Afterwards, Joseph barely listened to Fouche’s report, since he had the documents and could read them later at his leisure.
Once Fouche had left, Joseph looked out at the sunlight and stretched his back with effort.
It must be said that after a year of his handling, he had stabilized the debt, gotten through the famine, and improved the plight of the lower classes. The likelihood of France facing a major calamity was now almost non-existent. He had preliminarily solved the most pressing survival issues.
But the cost was disturbing the Old Nobility’s piece of the cake, which triggered new social issues.
Nevertheless, the size of the domestic cake was finite. Giving a larger share to the peasant class naturally meant the aristocracy would get less.
Therefore, if he wanted the aristocracy to reliably unite around the Royal Family and continue contributing to France’s prosperity, the cake had to be enlarged. It was essential to involve them in the new process of cake distribution.
“So, how do we enlarge the cake?” mused Joseph, as he picked up his teacup, only to find the tea had long since gone cold.
On the side, Eman tactfully signaled for a servant to bring fresh tea:
“Your Highness, would you like a piece of cake?”
“Oh, no thank you,” Joseph smiled and shook his head, “I have to save my ‘cake quota’ for when I visit Her Majesty the Queen.”
“I admire your thriftiness.” Eman, having no concept of the harms of excessive sugar intake, could only think of this explanation and respectfully withdrew to the door.
The warm tea brought Joseph a moment of tranquility.
He couldn’t help but think of Napoleon; at that time, France also faced the severe problem of an insufficient cake to divide. Napoleon’s solution was to direct internal pressures outward—taking the cake from others to distribute among the French people.
He sighed involuntarily as he realized that war was the main theme of the era, with battles erupting almost annually across the European continent. If you didn’t strike others, they would strike you. The aim was to secure a larger piece of the cake from other countries.
Of course, even when grabbing cake, one could not be as reckless as Napoleon, nor have as great an appetite, which provoked the entirety of Europe against France and eventually led to France being dragged to its death.
“Walk on two legs. Look outward, but also enlarge the domestic cake,” Joseph put down his teacup and wrote words like “industry,” “agriculture,” “trade,” and others on a piece of paper.
Indeed, France was still an agricultural country at the time, and increasing grain production was clearly the biggest contributor to enlarging the cake, which could most quickly improve the quality of life for the common people.
To increase grain yields, the most direct tool was fertilizer. The phosphate mines currently being excavated in Nauru and Tunisia—formed from guano—could partially solve the problem, but the transportation costs were still too high.
Developing purely industrial synthetic fertilizers could bring about a true agricultural revolution.
Yet at that moment, the level of chemical engineering around the whole world was rather unimpressive, only sulfuric acid could barely be synthetically produced industrially. The rest of the four substances among the fundamental “three acids and two alkalis” of the chemical industry were only producible in small quantities in laboratories.
This was far from enough to support a fertilizer industry able to supply the entire country.
Joseph drew a branch under “industry” for “chemical engineering,” recalling the historical development of the chemical industry during the industrial revolution.
Then he thought of something—the gas lamp.
In the early 19th century, the British were the first to erect gas street lights in London, greatly enhancing the city’s convenience and image.
What they didn’t anticipate was that the gas lamp project would greatly promote the development of Britain’s chemical industry.
During the process of distilling coal gas, a large amount of coal tar was produced. In dealing with this sticky, disgusting substance, the British discovered it was rich in many useful components, such as aniline.
Subsequently, industries utilizing coal tar flourished, leading to swift advancement in British processing industries such as disinfectants, dyes, fragrances, and even explosives. In this process, chemical industry technology experienced significant development.
“`
You should know that in this era where the textile industry reigns supreme, dyes are considered the crystallization of high technology.
Joseph nodded silently to himself, the gaslight project was definitely a great breakthrough.
Besides promoting the development of the chemical industry, affordable and convenient gaslight could bring immense benefits—it illuminated cities, allowing for longer hours of commercial activities. Even the previously profitless nights could now generate revenue. For industrial production, low-cost lighting equipment could extend factory working hours, making it possible to work night shifts.
All of this could directly increase the nation’s GDP.
Furthermore, gaslighting could also boost the development of France’s coal industry. Eventually, exporting the gaslight project as a whole abroad could become an industrial calling card for France.
Looking at the long list of benefits brought by gaslighting, a smile couldn’t help but appear on the corners of Joseph’s mouth. Right now, Murdock, the inventor of gas light, was in his grasp, tinkering with steam engines for France in Nancy.
Everything was in place to launch the gaslight project.
The British’s beard, I’ve got it cut!
…
The next day.
Joseph walked out of the meeting hall in a cheerful mood, as the “Grain Production Act” had just been passed at the Cabinet meeting. After registration with the High Court, it would soon be implemented nationwide.
This was not surprising, not to mention that the Cabinet Ministers were mostly Joseph’s people now, France had just experienced large-scale civil unrest due to a shortage of food, and increasing grain production was now the greatest political correctness. No one would seek trouble over this matter.
Joseph thought of the gaslight plan and said to Mirabeau on the side:
“Do you understand gaslight?”
The other party thought for a moment and recalled:
“Your Highness, I remember reading a paper mentioning this device. It seems to be a light fueled by gas made from coal. The light is very bright.”
“Exactly,” Joseph nodded, “I plan to set up such lights on the streets of Paris. If successful, we could illuminate the entire night of Paris at a very low cost.”
“Ah? Streetlights?” Mirabeau clearly didn’t understand the significance of the gas streetlights.
Joseph then briefly told him of the immense value of gaslight, which made Mirabeau’s eyes widen:
“Yes, Your Highness, factories could operate 24 hours, stores could stay open all night, it’s simply wonderful!”
“But the technology isn’t mature enough yet,” Joseph poured some cold water on his enthusiasm, “However, I know who is good at this. Now I need you to help me draft a plan for setting up streetlights throughout Paris, and make an initial budget. Oh, and include the Palace of Versailles as well.” Continue your saga on empire
“Yes, Your Highness, I will submit the report to you as soon as possible!”
As Mirabeau was speaking, an attendant of Louis XVI came towards them, bowing to Joseph:
“Crown Prince, His Majesty the King invites you to his workshop.”
“Alright, I will go now,” Joseph nodded, and said to Mirabeau, “We’ll talk about the details later.”
Before long, in the Royal Workshop, Louis XVI was gesturing lacklusterly at a wooden machine about three meters wide and as tall as two men, fitted with numerous cylinders to Joseph:
“This is it, the automatic loom you asked for.”
“`